


Don't Say A Word

by orphan_account



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Angst, Awkward Castiel, Bisexual Dean, Bullying, First Kiss, First Time, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hand Jobs, Jealous Dean Winchester, Jealousy, M/M, Sexual Experimentation, Slow Burn, meg pressures cas, sorta dubious consent?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-15
Updated: 2014-06-19
Packaged: 2018-01-19 12:54:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1470583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p><b>As of 09/11/2014 this is an abandoned WIP I have no plans to finish it</b><br/>For <a href="http://cassbutt.tumblr.com/">Sydnee</a></p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **As of 09/11/2014 this is an abandoned WIP I have no plans to finish it**  
>  For [Sydnee](http://cassbutt.tumblr.com/)

“He thinks he’s _so_ smart,” Dean snapped as he and Benny Lafitte walked down the hallway together. “He’s just so… _pretentious_. Ugh. He makes me want to throw up.”

 

Benny rolled his eyes and gave Dean a look that told him that Benny was not completely buying Dean’s story. “Yet you talk about Novak everyday-“

 

“I do _not_ talk about him _everyday_ ,” Dean snapped in return. Dean spoke on Castiel Novak a _lot_ but he was pretty damn sure it wasn’t every single day.

 

“Cool your jets Winchester,” Benny replied with a smirk. “Novak will think you got a crush on him.”

 

Dean felt his cheeks burn red and not to mention he could feel eyes on him because Benny had a big mouth. He grumbled in annoyance, crossing his arms. “I do not have a crush on him,” he growled lowly so only Benny could hear him. “So shut it.”

 

“Sorry, sorry.”

 

Dean pushed past a group of first years, trying not to accidentally topple someone over; his younger brother Sam was a first year and Dean had a soft spot for the little cretins. Dean was heading back to the Gryffindor Common Room to change out of his robes so they could head down to Hogsmeade. He had to remember to bring Sam some pumpkin pasties and chocolate frogs this time or he was toast.

 

“I mean let’s be honest, if the guy wasn’t such a dick I’d be able to tolerate him,” Dean replied as they hurried past a bunch of girls who began to giggle at him. “I mean, it’s no wonder he’s got no fucking friends, the guy’s a damn lunatic.”

 

“Who’s a lunatic?” came a familiar voice as Jo Harvelle jumped up to join he and Benny as they walked.

 

“Castiel Novak,” Benny said.

 

“ _Ohh_. Yeah he is kinda quirky,” Jo agreed with a laugh.

 

“You can say that again. The guy’s a fucking weir-“ Dean cut off when he felt someone knock into him as they hurried past, almost tripping as they went. Dean paused and was about to snap at them but then he saw the kid glance back at him and Dean felt his stomach drop. Castiel Novak was trying to hurry along, off towards Ravenclaw’s Wing most likely. There had been a sheen of tears covering those blue eyes. He must have heard what Dean had said.

 

“Dean you coming?” Jo called to him and Dean had to nod slowly.

 

“Uh yeah, coming,” he muttered before slowly following behind them.

 

Dean had always found Castiel Novak to be insufferable, with his smarts and ridiculous need to be _right_ all of the time. The Ravenclaw boy came from a line of Slytherin pure bloods the last Dean had checked; the Novaks were old money and they were rather famous in the wizarding world. Somehow, Castiel had ended up in Ravenclaw, but Dean still thought of him as a pretentious little shit who drove him insane.

 

However, as Dean diverted to the Boy’s Dormitory he could not help but feel a bit of shame as he changed out of his school uniform. He shouldn’t have said those things about Castiel when he hardly knew the guy; they had met on the Hogwarts train five years ago but they had barely spoken since Dean had been too busy talking to Jo the entire ride. But Dean was not a bully; at least he tried not to be. Kicking himself the entire way back down the stairs, Dean made his way over to where Jo was waiting on him. Benny would probably be at the front of the castle by now.

 

“You are _so_ slow.” Jo laughed at him. “Worse than a girl, Winchester.”

 

“Yeah, yeah shut it Harvelle,” he replied as they walked back out into the hallway. He would apologize to Castiel tomorrow since they had Potions together. Dean even nodded to himself. He was sure Castiel would be fine for now, it wasn’t like the guy put any stock in what he had to say anyway.

 

“Don’t forget Sam’s candy this time,” Jo reminded him.

 

“Right. Thanks.” He was going to have a good time, Castiel be damned.

 

xxx

 

“Hey Cas,” Charlie greeted as soon as Castiel walked into the Ravenclaw Common Room. “Whoa-what’s wrong, are you okay?”

 

“I’m fine,” Castiel muttered, quickly wiping his face on the back of his sleeve. He knew that she had seen the tears on his face like crystal wounds but he did not want to talk about it.

 

“You’re _not_ fine, you’re _crying_!” Charlie stood and walked up to him, cupping his face in her hands. “Who do I have to hit?”

 

“No one,” he mumbled in reply. “Just forget it, okay?”

 

“Cas-“

 

“I said _forget_ it, Charlie!” Castiel hardly ever yelled, he usually didn’t need to but he could not stop himself from yelling at her since she just kept pushing. He regretted it however when he saw the look on her face. “I’m sorry-I didn’t mean…I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s okay,” she whispered. “Seriously though, who made you a cry? Because I have a babble curse with their name on it for sure.”

 

Castiel half smiled at his friend, not able to stop himself from the gesture. “It was nobody important-“

 

“Whoever made you _cry_ is obviously important enough to have made _you_ cry. You never cry, Cas.” Charlie put her hands on her hips. “Was it Winchester?”

 

Castiel sputtered. “Wh-wh-… _no_ ,” he gracefully snapped in his own defense. “It was most definitely not Winchester-“

 

“Uh. Dean made you _cry_?! What a dick.” Charlie began to pace the room and Castiel could only watch her and stammer.

 

“It wasn’t Dean!”

 

“Oh _please_ , he’s the only boy who has your heart all aflutter-“

 

“I _hate_ Dean,” Castiel protested. How the hell had she figured out that he liked Dean Winchester? He wasn’t exactly _open_ about it. In fact, he was always complaining about Dean and his cocky attitude; he thought he could get extended deadlines because he was a popular Quidditch player. Castiel hated it when the jocks received extra time for their papers just because they had a game they needed to prepare for.

 

Winchester was usually on top of his shit list.

But Winchester was also the hottest boy he had _ever_ seen and Castiel longed to wrap his arm around that broad chest and snuggle his face under Dean’s chin. He hated him.

 

“You don’t _hate_ Dean,” Charlie replied. “You’re _in loooovvveee_ with Dean.”

  
“I am not!”

 

Charlie stopped pacing, only to turn a look on him. He knew that she didn’t believe him that much was clear. “You are too. You’ve been crushing on him since our first year here. You wanna walk to Honeyduke’s with him, hold his hand, probably do the…however boys do it together sex stuff-“

 

If his cheeks turned any redder he would be able to match Dean’s red scarf. “Shut _up_ ,” he hissed desperately.

 

“See?! I knew you liked him! And he made you a cry-what did he do? Tell me Castiel. Right now.” Charlie stared at him patiently, waiting for him to spill the news.

 

Castiel sighed heavily. “I heard him saying…stuff about me….being a jerk…and pretentious…and he said the reason I have no friends is because I’m a jerk…and a lunatic…” He shrugged, wishing he could just forget that Dean had said those things about him. He hardly ever let what anyone said about him get under his skin, but with Dean it was different. Castiel hated to admit it, but he wanted Dean’s approval terribly; he wanted Dean to like him. But after Dean’s display, it was clear that Dean did _not_ like him.

 

“He _what_?!” Charlie turned red as well but it was not from embarrassment. “Oh I should wring his stupid neck…or I’ll get Benny to do it-“

 

“Benny was _with_ him, Benny heard him-“ Castiel began but Charlie was on a roll and there was no stopping her when she was about to rant.

 

“Yeah but did he laugh? I bet not, I bet he thought Dean was a huge insensitive _dick head_ , which he is. You need to find a new crush because Dean is so not worth your time. You should go out with Benny, he’s a giant teddy bear, and he will wreck your-“

 

“Charlie!” Castiel snapped to cut her off. “Shh.”

 

“Sorry.”

 

For a girl who claimed she had a no idea how boys “did it” she was definitely uncensored most of the time. “I don’t want to go out with anyone, okay? Just…can we talk about something else now? Please?”

 

“Fine. Fine. Oh, we can talk about how we have that stupid paper due tomorrow in Potions and I’m pretty damn sure Crowley is not going to-“ Charlie cut off and then there was this… _smile_ that passed over her face and Castiel felt his skin crawl. He had never seen Charlie smile so deviously before, it was highly unnerving.

 

“Why are you smiling like that?” Castiel asked slowly.

 

“Dean was a jerk to you, yeah?” Charlie prompted, to which Castiel nodded. “We should curse his paper-“

 

“I doubt he even _has_ his paper,” Castiel pointed out. “Dean hates papers.”

 

 

“Yeah but Crowley _did_ tell him that if he missed one more, he would be out of the game on Friday. Dean hates missing Quidditch games. He’d do _anything_ to get that paper done. We should hex it…erase it completely.” Charlie giggled diabolically and Castiel could only stare at his friend in wonder; where had the innocent Charlie Bradbury gone?

 

“That’s…that’s not very nice Charlie,” he whispered.

 

“As if he _deserves_ nice,” Charlie replied.

 

“We’d have to have his paper to do that-“ Castiel tried to point out but again, Charlie was on a roll and quickly spoke over him.

 

“I think we should do it Cas. He deserves it. He’s such a jerk-“

 

“Charlie _stop_.” He reached over to snatch onto her hands to make her stop talking. “I don’t want to hex Dean’s homework. I don’t want to dish it back, okay? I’m not the…dish-it-back guy. I’m the…shuts up and does his homework guy. So, can we just do our homework please?”

 

Charlie sighed. “I guess.”

 

Castiel smiled. “Thanks.”

 

xxx

 

“Did you bring me-“ Sam cut off when Dean produced enough candy to make him sick. His face lit up with a huge smile. “ _Thanks_ Dean!”

 

Dean grinned and ruffled Sam’s hair, which was getting too long in his opinion. “You don’t cut that off and I’m gonna have to send you a howler in the mail.”

 

“Dean _no_ ,” Sam begged immediately. “The girls like it-“

 

Dean immediately began to laugh, clapping his younger brother on the shoulder. “Is that right?” When Sam nodded, a fond smile spread across his face; his kid brother was growing up too fast and Dean was not a fan of it either.

 

“Yeah, I bet they do,” he muttered after some silence passed between them.

 

“I can’t wait to go to Hogsmeade _with_ you,” Sam said as Dean walked him down the hall towards the Hufflepuff painting.

 

Dean hated that Sam was not in Gryffindor with him, it broke his heart that they were not in the same House. But at least Sam had not been placed in Slytherin, not that he had ever been worried about Sammy in stupid Slytherin anyway. Sam was too good, loyal, and kind to be a Slytherin. Truth be told, Dean was surprised _he_ hadn’t been sorted into Slytherin…of course he _had_ begged the Sorting Hat to put him in Gryffindor.

 

But at least with Sammy in Hufflepuff Benny was there to watch out for him, and he owed Benny for that. So damn much. “Yeah, one day kiddo,” he replied before ruffling Sam’s hair again. “I’ll see you later, okay? I gotta actually go do some work now.”

 

“If you didn’t procrastinate-“ Sam began but Dean was already walking away.

 

“Lalalala!!” Dean sang back at Sam, which made Sam roll his eyes but they both knew Dean hated homework. The walk back to the Common Room was long and quiet, so Dean whistled to himself to make some sort of noise. If he actually sat and wrote Crowley’s paper then he could play the game on Friday, which was against Ravenclaw. Not that he had to worry really; their biggest competition was definitely _not_ Ravenclaw. Their team was really awful in Dean’s opinion.

 

“Hey Kev,” he greeted when he spotted Kevin Tran sitting in a chair, his knees pulled up to his chest. “Doin’ Crowley’s thing-a-ling?” he asked and then regretted his word choice. “I mean...paper…that’s totally what I meant, man.”

 

Kevin rolled his eyes. “I already wrote his paper. I assume you haven’t?”

 

He shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

 

“So you haven’t,” Kevin replied with a smirk.

 

“So I haven’t, so what?” he snapped defensively. “It’s not like I have all of the time in the world-I’m _busy_.” Dean gave Kevin a dark look and then he became terribly distracted, which wasn’t hard. He was just an easily distracted guy, but he couldn’t help it either.

 

The Head Boy of their House was walking by and the guy had a ridiculously nice butt; like almost as nice as Castiel’s butt.

 

 

“Doing what?” Kevin asked. “Sucking face and riding a broom all day?” There was a bark of laughter that Dean was pretty surprised had come from Kevin. He watched as Dean’s eyes followed their peer’s ass as he walked across the room, not even paying them any heed. “Dude, you are _so_ gay.”

 

“Gay? Me? Are you serious?” Dean began to laugh; he laughed so hard that there were tears streaming down his cheeks and he hit his head on the back of the couch he had come to sit on several times. “Dude, wow…yeah okay…sure. I’m gay.”

 

Kevin stared at him blankly, completely unimpressed. “Yep. Gay. You like guys, and you secretly wanna suck cock-“

 

“Shut _up_ , man,” Dean hissed. He reached over to smack the back of Kevin’s head.

 

“If you weren’t gay you wouldn’t get so-“

 

“Alright, alright. I’m not _gay_ first of all, I’m _bi_. Get it straight, asshat.”

 

Kevin snorted at Dean’s word choice. “See, was that so hard to admit?”

 

“Why, you want me to go down you?” Dean asked darkly.

 

“Ew. No, man. Sorry. I actually do like chicks. Only chicks.” Kevin set his book aside. “Sorry, I wasn’t…I mean I wasn’t trying to be a jerk. It’s just funny…how a bunch of seemingly straight guys go out and ride broomsticks for hours is all.”

 

“Hey, hey there are _girls_ on the Quidditch team, thank you very much.”

 

They both turned to see Jo walking.

 

“Sorry Jo,” they both muttered in unison.

 

“Yeah you better be.” She smiled and sat down with a wink. “I’m _kidding_. You boys are so sensitive.”

 

Dean ran a hand along the back of his neck before hopping up to go retrieve parchment, quill, and ink. If he was going to write this paper he had to start now or he was never going to finish.

 

xxx

 

The sound of the dungeon door clanging open and shut again made everyone in the room jump out of their skins. Dean Winchester was rushing in, breathless, a roll of parchment in his hands.

 

“You’re late,” came Crowley’s cold accent.

 

“I’m sorry Professor-“ Dean tried to begin but the look that Crowley gave him shut him down.

 

“Somehow, I’m not surprised…Novak,” Crowley said suddenly, which made Castiel finally glance up from his work. “Meet your new partner.”

 

Castiel stared blankly at Dean, even though on the inside he was experiencing various emotions; happy to finally have Dean as his partner in potions, but upset because he knew Dean didn’t like him and found him to be a pretentious lunatic. The knowledge that he was going to be able to smell Dean made it almost worth it.

 

Crowley snatched Dean’s paper from his hands and then Dean was trudging over to Castiel’s table, setting his bag down and slowly sinking into the chair next to Castiel’s.

 

“Don’t touch anything,” Castiel said immediately just as Dean went to reach for a jar.

 

“Partners means we have to work together, you know that right? Team work-“

 

“I am _aware_ of what being class partners means,” he snapped back icily. “However, you are late and if you just start touching things all willy nilly, you are going to mess something up-“

 

“Why? Because I’m a stupid Gryffindor?” Dean barked back in return. “That’s how you see me, am I right? You know, I was going to apologize to you, for being rude yesterday…but maybe now I won’t because I was right. You _are_ a pretentious prick.”

 

Dean’s words slid into his ribcage like knives. They cut into his flesh and left him bleeding internally. He shouldn’t have cared how Dean felt about him but he did, so Castiel looked back down at the ingredients. Lacewing fly. He was missing lacewing fly.

 

“If you want to help you can cut this root up, please,” Castiel muttered, slowly pushing the root over for Dean to take.

 

“Fine,” Dean replied.

 

Castiel measured out the lacewing flies carefully, his thin and deft fingers working the delicate creatures easily. Potions had always been one of his favorite classes; potions and charms. He had always been good at charms too. Every now and again, Castiel glanced down the table at Dean, partially to make sure he was still indeed chopping up the root, and partially because he liked staring at Dean.

 

Which was _stupid_ , Castiel reminded himself.

 

Once or twice he and Dean ended up catching each other glancing each other’s way, and each and every time Castiel’s face turned red. He became so hot that he slid his robes off and rolled up his sleeves instead. After he had secured his sleeves up over his elbows, he found Dean staring at him, and this time it was not so subtle.

 

Dean was staring at him completely slack jawed, as if he could not believe what he was seeing. It was unnerving. “You’re staring at me,” Castiel muttered.

 

“Wh-…oh…shit-sorry…” Dean blinked and tore his exploratory eyes away, his own freckled cheeks flushing a darker color; it was too dark to see if he was really blushing but from Dean’s behavior Castiel had a feeling he was.

 

“It’s okay,” he whispered back. The potion began to bubble as Castiel added the lacewing fly one by one. “Is that root cut up?”

 

“Oh um yeah-here-“ Dean handed the pieces over but Castiel smiled and gestured for Dean to put them in, which he was surprised to see how that small gesture made Dean’s eyes light up. It was like watching a Muggle play with a chemistry set. The potion’s smoke turned purple and Dean’s face split into a huge smile. “Dude, that is so cool.”

 

Castiel rolled his eyes. “Yeah, it is pretty neat.”

 

Dean smiled and then Castiel realized how close they had gotten. When Dean turned to look at him, their noses were almost touching. Honestly, Castiel could have leaned over and kissed-

 

“Ah, I see having Mr. Winchester with you was an all right decision after all,” Crowley commented, which made both boys jerk away from one another. “Good job, Novak.”

 

Castiel nodded quickly. Once again, Dean had made him blush. Why did he have to be so damn attractive? Castiel considered his feelings for Dean to be ridiculous; he didn’t even _know_ Dean. When clean up was done and class was over, Castiel gathered up his books quickly and fled the classroom before he could make a fool of himself by doing something asinine like ask Dean to hang out with him later.

 

He did not expect Dean to come after him, quick on his heels. “Hey-hey wait up-Cas!”

 

He should have known better than to try and run away from a guy who enjoyed being active. Castiel paused and allowed Dean to catch up to him, staring straight ahead so as not to turn pink or red or any other shade of vermillion.

 

“Look, I know what I said yesterday hurt your feelings,” Dean began slowly. “I shouldn’t have said that stuff about you, it was rude…I’m sorry.”

 

Castiel allowed Dean a quick and shy glance before turning away and rubbing the back of his neck, suddenly very aware of his body and how he looked. He did not have to reach up and touch his hair to know it was probably sticking up in every direction since he always ran his fingers through his hair while working in class. His robes were hanging over his shoulder since he had not put them back on yet, and he was certain his shirt probably had a stain on it. The likely culprit was ink. He always had ink stains on his clothing.

 

“It’s okay,” he whispered, still refusing to meet Dean’s eyes. Walking became considerably difficult then because Dean took it upon himself to step directly in front of him, which caused Castiel to almost walk right into Dean’s chest, and also jerk his head up so they were now looking eye to eye.

 

“It’s not,” Dean replied. “I was an ass, and I know you were crying. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

 

Castiel stared at Dean’s eyes and then at his pretty cheeks and how the freckles decorated his skin like tiny embellishments. Freckles were some of his favorite features on a person; they were like the constellations above their heads except on human skin. He gulped, growing more and more nervous. They could have easily kissed again, that was how close they stood together. In fact, Castiel could feel Dean’s robes moving as he breathed and smelt he hint of mint on his breath.

 

“I wasn’t crying,” he muttered.

 

Dean gave him a look that told Castiel his lie wasn’t a good one. “Yeah you were.”

 

“It’s fine-“

 

“It’s _not_ fine Cas,” Dean said heatedly.

 

If Dean got any closer Castiel was going to do something stupid, like grab the front of his robes and plant a kiss on his kissable lips. Honestly, it was really unfair how attractive Winchester’s face was. “Okay. I forgive you,” he said quickly and then finally broke from Dean’s spell and slid around him.

 

“Really?” Dean called after him.

 

“Yes!” he called back, trying not to break out into a run, even though he was tempted. Once he rounded the corner and he was certain Dean could no longer see him, Castiel did start to run. He ran down the hallway and all the way out of the castle and out onto the grounds. He had Transfiguration in ten minutes but that did not stop him from running to the lake to stand at the edge and stare at his reflection.

 

Castiel hardly ever skipped class; in fact he had never skipped a class. Except the one time he had been terribly ill his third year, but that time spent in the infirmary and his professors had forgiven him. He also completed all of his schoolwork on his sick bed, but this was just blatant skipping. Dean Winchester made his heart beat faster, his palms sweat, and his breathing quicken; he was also certain that Dean made his pupils dilate.

 

Was he _in love_ with Dean Winchester? How disgusting, Castiel thought. If he wasn’t in love, this was a horrid crush that was going to screw up everything. He could hardly focus on his homework last night because of Dean Winchester, and how he made him feel. Dean Winchester was going to ruin his life. Castiel glared at his reflection and threw a rock to disrupt the lake and send ripples through his face.

 

 

xxx

 

 

“Dean _focus_!” he heard Ash scream at him across the Quidditch pitch.

 

He had almost missed a bludger that had been flying at the team’s Seeker because a pair of familiar blue eyes. Castiel was in Ravenclaw’s section, his blue scarf wrapped around his neck and his brown hair askew. Castiel _never_ came to Quidditch matches, so was he here _now_?

 

Dean nodded at Ash and took off towards Hufflepuff’s section to sit and look around for more unruly bludgers to bat off. But his mind was elsewhere, rather than on the game. Castiel Novak was notorious for missing Quidditch matches because he hated sports. Dean was certain he was the only one in the entire school who hated the sport, and he wasn’t exactly quiet about it either.

 

Dean glanced over at the sea of blue and somehow his eyes still landed on Castiel who was looking around his area in what appeared to be fascination. Dean was tempted to fly over and smile at the smug little shit but he kept himself seated on his broom. The idea that Castiel could have come to this game to watch _him_ flashed through his mind in a sudden and surprising realization. As soon as the thought emerged, he dismissed it entirely; why would Castiel come to watch him? It wasn’t as if they were friends. But then again Castiel _had_ been all flushed and adorably shy the other day in Potions.

 

In fact, now that he thought on it, Castiel blushed around him often. Did Castiel _like_ him? Like, crushing and writing his initials on his parchment kind of like? The laughter that bubbled up out of him almost made him fall off of his broom; Castiel being all cute and writing their initials together in tiny hearts made him snort and laugh. Castiel was not a _girl_ he reminded himself. Of course, if Jo had heard him think that out loud she would have punched him in the face. That realization made his giggle fit die immediately.

 

“Dean!”

 

Someone was screaming his name and the game came flooding back to him. There was a moment when he realized that there was a bludger flying right at him, and life seemed to slow down to an almost comical level. He should have just rolled his broom but instead he tried to jerk out of the way but the bludger smacked him hard in the side and he was falling. The air in his lungs had huffed out in a gasp and then there was an excruciating pain in his ribcage. The ground came up faster than he would have thought possible and the air was robbed from him once again.

 

His vision kept swimming and there were black spots jumping around until the blackness finally ebbed in and left him tired. His eyes slid closed and then the noise faded to nothing.

 

xxx

 

“Ha! I told you the sound of packaged sweets opening would wake him up.”

 

Ash, Jo, Sam, and most of the Gryffindor Quidditch team were all staring at him Dean realized. After a moment he remembered the accident and then the pain hit him. “Son of a-“

 

“Chocolate frog?” Ash offered, quick to cut off the curse that was about to leave Dean’s mouth.

 

“What?” he gasped, slowly sitting up in the bed that he was sitting on. “What happened?”

 

“Bludger came and smacked you right in the ribs, mate,” Ash said. “It was pretty awesome.”

 

“ _Thanks_ ,” he snapped back with a roll of his eyes. Sam was staring at him with the puppy eyes so he reached out to ruffle his hair. “Heya Sammy.”

 

“Are you okay?” Sam asked quietly, his concern clear in his voice.

 

“Yeah. I’ll be fine, man. No worries.” Dean grinned and sat up some more, wincing at the pain that ran down from his ribcage and through his spine. “I’m fine-“ he insisted when they all gave him worried looks. “Who won?”

 

“Oh um…it was a draw-they sorta ended the game after you fell,” Jo said with a shrug. “We get a rematch when you’re better.”

 

“Sorry guys.”

 

“Hey no worries, we’re just glad it wasn’t your head that got smacked,” Jo continued as she reached over to touch his hand.

 

Dean gave her a small smile, which she returned and then the nurse was ushering them all out, claiming he needed rest. The potion he was forced to drink to help mend his bones made him want to vomit, or maybe that was just the pain he could still feel, but either way Dean was happy when the room cleared out and he could close his eyes and relax.

 

“No, no more visitors-“

 

“Please? I’ll-I’ll be quick-“

 

Dean’s eyes flew open and they immediately sought out that source of that familiar voice; it was Castiel. The smile that spread across his face probably had to do with the way the potion was taking his pain away, but he just kept on smiling anyway as Castiel was finally allowed over. His smile only widened when he saw Castiel’s cheeks were flushed and he kept toying with the ends of his scarf, which were much too long for his height.

 

“Hey Cas,” he greeted sleepily.

 

“Hello Dean…are-are you alright?” Castiel sank down into a chair, which rested next to the bed, his hands nervously wringing the scarf, twisting and pulling the fabric until Dean reached over to take his hand and stopped him.

 

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry ‘bout me,” he replied with another tired smile. “Sorry I scared you…”

 

“You didn’t scare me,” Castiel said quickly. Almost defensively but they both knew it was a horrible lie. “Okay, fine you scared me. You should have been paying attention to the game instead of staring at me.”

 

Dean was fairly certain that he couldn’t be jolted completely out of the potion’s effects but he was also pretty sure he felt more awake all of a sudden. “What?” he asked quickly.

 

“I said you shouldn’t have been-“

 

“No. No I heard you-….I wasn’t…I-“ Lying was usually so easy for Dean. He could lie to his professors, his brother, his parents, to anyone really.  But suddenly, in the face of Castiel Novak’s innocent face, he could not help but stammer and stare. How had the little smug bastard seen him staring from across the field? Unless…Castiel _had_ come to watch him play.

 

“You were,” Castiel insisted. “Staring at me, that is. You shouldn’t have been-“

 

“You came to see me play, didn’t you?” Dean whispered, cutting Castiel off and turning the tables back on him instead. The look on Castiel’s face was absolutely worth it.

 

“I- _no_. I always go to the games-“

 

Laughing hurt. A lot.

 

“Shut up!” Castiel snapped. “I-…I did not come to _see you play_ , why would I come to see _you_ play? You’re not even in my House! I came to see _my_ team beat your team. That’s all.”

 

“You _hate_ Quidditch,” Dean pointed out with a grin. “You came to see me play. Admit it.”

 

“No. I did not. You-you have _no_ idea what you’re talking about Dean Winchester. I…I went to the game because my friend told me to. Charlie made me go. I did not go by choice but I suppose if you’re going to be falling off of your broomstick every game, I can see why I don’t go. Even if it was a tad exciting.” Castiel shrugged and huffed, completely and utterly annoyed.

 

Dean just kept smiling. “Yeah, whatever you say Cas.” His eyes were growing too tired to stay open and the last thing Dean remembered seeing was the look on Castiel’s face, which was stuck between embarrassed and miffed. Totally worth it.

 

xxx

 

“Sammy and Jessica sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

 

Castiel glanced up from where he had been reading under a tree in the courtyard. Sam Winchester was walking away from a group of kids who were teasing him, his face a vibrant shade of crimson. He only knew him to be Sam Winchester because he always saw Dean and Sam together; despite all of Dean’s shortcomings, he was an excellent older brother. However, Dean was still in the infirmary and not around to help protect him from bullies.

 

Which was probably why they were all taking advantage of this fact.

 

When an older boy, about as old as Castiel came to stand in Sam’s way, Castiel stood up and began to slowly approach them. He recognized the boy as Victor Henriksen. He was a Slytherin and if Castiel remembered correctly he was also Dean’s least favorite person. His enemy even.

 

Two other Slytherins reached around Victor and batted Sam’s books to the ground, which made Sam drop to his knees and scramble to gather up all of his belongings, but Victor’s friends picked him back up and held him still.

 

Now, usually Castiel despised confrontation; he wasn’t a fan of fighting but he had also grown up in a household with four older brothers, and they were all meaner and bigger than him. So, Castiel had learned to fight the hard way, and he was certain Sam probably also knew how to defend himself, but he was only eleven and these boys were at least fifteen. Castiel felt his anger surge and he was walking across the courtyard with murder in his sights.

 

“Hold him still,” Victor was saying to his friends but then Castiel grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. “Oh, another nerdling to Sammy’s rescue, how cute-“

 

The courtyard silenced after the sound of Victor’s head smacking the pavement filled the space. Practically everyone stopped what they were doing to turn and look. Castiel glared down at the Slytherin boy before raising angered eyes up to his friends, who were now quickly releasing Sam from their grasp and helping their friend up off the ground. Victor’s nose was broken, the blood pouring down onto his tie and shirt.

 

“You’ll pay for that Novak!” Victor sputtered.

 

“Yes, go run home and tell your father, I’m _so_ afraid,” Castiel snarled in return. He was well aware of how everyone was staring at him but he turned kinder eyes on Sam instead. “Are you okay?”

 

Sam stared at him with wide eyes before giving a small nod. “Yeah,” he muttered. “Thanks.”

 

“I’m Castiel by the way.” He cast Sam a kind smile as he assisted him in gathering up his belongings.

 

“I know who you are,” Sam said quietly. “Everyone does.”

 

Castiel frowned and tilted his head to the side. “What does that mean?”

 

“You’re really smart…smartest in the school…that’s what everyone says at least.” Sam shrugged and accepted the books back into his arms. “Thanks for your help.”

 

Castiel blushed slightly and ran a hand along the back of his neck. “I’m not that smart,” he began but Sam smirked.

 

“You are. Dean likes you…a lot.” Sam gave him another friendly smile before heading off in the opposite direction.

 

Castiel watched him go, his mouth opening and closing uselessly. _Dean likes you….a lot_. What did _that_ mean? Did Dean like him…or did Dean _like_ him? He had been under the impression that Dean found him annoying and pretentious. Of course, Dean had apologized for saying those things about him, but he was still fairly convinced that that was how Dean felt about him. He continued to stammer in surprise before finally turning around to walk back over to where his book was still lying beneath the tree.

 

A sultry voice that would have made him shiver if he was into women spoke up from behind him. “Nice punch Clarence.”

 

Castiel glanced over his shoulder to see Meg Masters leaning back against the same tree he was sitting in front of. “Clarence? My name isn’t-“

 

“Oh, I forgot. You’re a pure blood. You don’t watch many movies, do you?” Meg asked as she slowly slid down to sit next to him. She was in Slytherin but she wasn’t as awful as some of the other House members Castiel had come to find over the years; in fact he really liked Meg and considered her a friend.

 

“No, I’m afraid not,” Castiel admitted quietly.

 

“But still, nice punch. He deserved it. I’m in his House and I hate him.” Meg rolled her eyes and then she was smiling at him and leaning into his shoulder. “What are you reading, Clarence?”

 

“My name is Castiel,” he said. “You’ve known me for five years Meg, I’m pretty sure you should know my name by now-“

 

“I _know_ your name Clarence, don’t worry.” Meg smiled and nudged him. “What are you reading?” she repeated.

 

“Oh I’m reading a history on-“ Castiel began but Meg cut him off.

 

“You are _such_ a nerd Clarence,” she said.

 

“You didn’t even let me finish!” He gave her a dark look, somewhat offended but he knew that Meg said these things out of some strange affection she had for him. She never said anything out of spite or just to be rude.

 

“You said _history_ in the title, I don’t need to know anything else,” she explained with a smirk. “So, when are you and Winchester going to get it on? Hm?”

 

“Win-…,” Castiel cut off and rolled his eyes, sick and tired of everyone just assuming that he was in love with Dean Winchester. “Why does everyone just _assume_ that I want to have sex with Dean Winchester? I don’t even like him-“

 

“I meant Sam,” she replied deadpan.

 

Castiel stared at her in shock. “He’s _eleven_!”

 

Meg bursted into giggle fits. “I was _kidding_. So sensitive Cas.”

 

He looked away ready to rip his own hair out. “I don’t like Dean-“

 

“Yes you do. It’s so _obvious_ ,” Meg drawled with a grin that reminded Castiel of his cat when he was about to catch a mouse. “Plus you just stood up for his kid brother, that’s pretty telling. I mean since when does _Castiel Novak_ , perfect little Cas with his perfect school record…get into physical altercations?”

 

“He was being _picked_ on, so I stood up for him. That is what _decent_ human beings do,” he snapped.

 

“Oh _snarky_ , I like it.” Meg winked at him, which made his face burn again. She was the flirtiest girl he knew. “And even so, you are crazy about Dean Winchester, and you stuck up for his little brother…who no doubt will _tell_ Dean what you did.”

 

“I didn’t do it to impress Dean, if that is what you are implying.” Castiel snapped his book shut and began to stand up. He did not have to take her attitude or questions, not if he didn’t want to.

 

“Yes, but it is an added benefit,” she pointed out with another wink. “Am I right?”

 

Castiel rolled his eyes and walked away, not bothering to answer her, which he supposed spoke louder than his words ever could.

 

xxx

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Dean could see Castiel sitting out by the lake under a tree, his nose in a book. Not horribly surprising since Castiel’s nose was always in a book; it was even a trait Dean had found himself liking about the guy.

 

“Hey Cas!” he called as he tried to walk faster, finally breaking into a jog. The Saturday sun was warm and Dean had finally been able to shed a layer and was only wearing a Henley and jeans, which from the look on Castiel’s face, had been a good choice.

 

“Hello Dean. You’re looking better,” Castiel said with a smile.

 

Dean grinned and sat down across from him on the grass. “Yeah. I am…so I heard you punched Henriksen so hard in the nose that you broke it?”

 

Castiel’s cheeks turned a lovely shade of scarlet and he ducked his head down. “I-…Yes. I did.”

 

Dean’s smile widened. “Thanks for stickin’ up for Sammy, man.”

 

There was more shuffling and awkward glancing. “It was no problem…They were picking on him, I didn’t want...I mean…if someone had been picking on my little brother, I’d want someone to stick up for him.”

 

“Do you have a younger brother?” Dean asked his curiosity piqued.

 

“Yes. His name is Samandriel. He’s only nine,” Castiel replied.

 

“Huh. Didn’t know that about you.” Dean smiled some more. Castiel made him feel shy and his stomach always twisted into knots around him. It was kind of ridiculous to be honest. “What about your older brothers?”

 

“What about them?” Castiel asked.

 

“How much older are they?”

 

“Gabriel is nineteen, Balthazar is twenty-one, Michael is twenty-three, and Lucifer is twenty-five,” Castiel counted off slowly.

 

“Damn. I guess they waited a while to have you and Samandriel then?” Dean leaned back on his hands, suddenly curious about Castiel’s life.

 

“I was an accident,” Castiel replied quietly, looking ashamed. “I wasn’t supposed to happen.”

 

Dean sat forward again; he wanted to reach out and touch Castiel on the knee or leg, to comfort him. “You think you weren’t supposed to happen?”

 

“I wasn’t,” Castiel snapped quickly, his tone holding a firm finite edge. “Mother tells me all the time how I wasn’t supposed to happen.”

 

“And Samand-“

 

“He was planned. After me, they wanted someone less disappointing.”

 

Dean stammered at Castiel in shock, unsure of how to reply to something like that. Perhaps he shouldn’t have been digging into Castiel’s personal life after all. There was a heavy silence afterwards and Dean wasn’t even sure how to fill it.

 

“Are your ribs better?” Castiel asked after the silence drew on too long.

 

“Um…yeah. They are.” Dean smiled, pulling the hem of his shirt up to show the faded bruise. He was also waiting to see what Castiel’s reaction would be to him lifting his shirt up, and he was not disappointed as Castiel immediately licked his lips, and Dean was pretty sure Castiel’s pupils had dilated.

 

“That’s good,” Castiel squeaked.

 

Dean smirked and dropped his shirt again. “Yeah. We’re having a rematch this weekend. You should come watch.”

 

“Only if you promise to pay attention to the game and not fall off your broomstick,” Castiel countered.

 

This time it was Dean’s turn to blush scarlet. “Yeah,” he whispered. “I will…”

 

“Then I’ll be there.”

 

“Really? You sure you don’t have to write some paper early or….” He couldn’t help but laugh when Castiel reached over and slapped him on the knee. “Kidding.”

 

Castiel smiled back; it was small but Dean could see it in his eyes. “You know, you’re not as big of a cocky jerk as I thought.”

 

“Yeah well, you’re not as big of a pretentious prick, so I guess we should have just gotten over ourselves and talked more.” Dean tilted his head and brought it down when Castiel’s gaze casted down and then shyly back up at him. “Agreed?”

 

“Agreed.”

 

xxx

 

“I don’t think we should be doing this,” Castiel whispered to Meg.

 

“Why not Clarence. _You_ asked me, remember?” Meg quirked an eyebrow at him and patted the spot next to her. “C’mon. Just do it.”

 

Castiel cast her a nervous glance before finally closing the distance and going to rest on his knees next to her; his stomach was all in knots and he was certain that it would drop out of his butt, followed by his heart thrown up out of his throat. He had asked Meg to come to the Room of Requirement with him, since they had found it last year on accident. He wanted to know if he _really_ didn’t like girls, or if maybe he did after all and had just never had the right opportunities.

 

Meg had agreed to be his guinea pig.

 

“I-I don’t…I don’t want to hurt your feelings,” he said quickly.

 

“You won’t hurt my feelings. I said I’d do this, so c’mon, pucker up.” Meg waggled her eyebrows at him before leaning into his space.

 

He licked his lips and leaned in closer nervously. Meg’s hair had a faint scent of berries and the breath he could feel tickling his lips smelled of mint. He had never kissed a girl before; in fact he had never kissed anyone before. Of course, he was not very good at socializing with children his age. Adults were easier to talk to, even if they did treat him like a child most of the time.

 

Meg’s eyes fluttered shut, her dark lashes caressing her cheekbones so softly that Castiel wanted to run his fingers along that soft spot. But his hands remained firmly at his sides before finally, he closed the distance and pressed their lips together. He did it so suddenly that he felt her jump but she didn’t pull away so maybe he wasn’t a _terrible_ kisser. Meg’s lips were soft and pliant and he was ready to pull back when her tongue ran along his bottom lip. He gasped and that only led to her pressing her tongue into his mouth.

 

Shock made him yank back, his eyes as wide as they would open, and his mouth hanging open stupidly.

 

Meg gave him one of her classic smirks. “What’s the matter Clarence?” she asked.

 

“What are you doing?!”

 

“Do you really think Dean Winchester is going to kiss you all chaste and cute?” She snorted and laughed. “No, that boy will rut your mouth with his tongue just like he will your ass. You better get used to having tongues in your mouth.”

 

Castiel began to wonder how deeply a person could blush before blood vessels would start to burst beneath the skin and cause internal bleeding. “I-…it’s not your business about how Dean will kiss me…because I don’t even know if he will at all.”

 

Meg rolled her eyes and pulled herself into his space, lacing her fingers behind his neck, and her legs came to rest on either side of his hips. “Shut up Clarence,” she said quietly.

 

He wanted to protest but she was kissing him again, this time forcing her way into his mouth and running her tongue along his. The kiss was not _terrible_ but he felt no stir in his loins as he had assumed would happen. Kissing back had to be an art form all on its down because he almost bit her, which made her draw back with another smirk.

 

“Kinky,” she said with a wink.

 

“Sorry,” he whispered, his face still red.

 

Meg dropped her voice to a whisper. “I like how you blush Clarence…it just keeps going down…and _down_.” She smiled slowly, another cat eating the canary grin, and walked her fingers along his jaw, and then down his neck to the collar of his sweater. “I wonder how far it goes?”

 

“It-“ Castiel began but his voice cracked when her hands slithered beneath his sweater to wrap around his ribs. “What are you doing?”

 

“Investigating,” came her reply. Soon, his sweater was discarded next to them, revealing his naked upper half, and his blush did travel down his chest, to his navel, and disappearing to the band of his jeans. “Goodness. It really does go far. Dean’ll _love_ that.”

 

“Shut up,” he muttered. “I didn’t ask you to do this to humiliate me Meg-“

 

“I’m not trying to humiliate you Castiel,” she said so seriously that for a moment he had to wonder who this girl was because it could not be Meg.

 

Castiel squinted his eyes and tilted his head in confusion. “You said my name.”  

 

“I would never want to humiliate you. I _like_ you Cas.”

 

Castiel watched as Meg grew uncomfortable and she looked away, her hands dropping away from his body to rest at her sides, even as she still sat in his lap. “You like me?”

 

“Yes. Why do you think I said yes to this? I figured it’d the be the only way I’d ever get to know what your mouth tasted like.” Meg began to blush, which was so odd to Castiel. Meg did not blush, nor did she become flustered or embarrassed, but for a moment he was able to see this vulnerable side of her, and Castiel could feel some guilt eating at him.

 

“You’re very nice Meg,” he whispered. “And…if I liked girls, I’d want to go out with you.”

 

Meg huffed a sigh and slid out of his lap. “So, I take it you don’t feel anything, huh?”

 

“Sorry. No.” He shrugged a shoulder and reached for his sweater but her hand wrapped around his wrist, pinning his hand to the floor. “What?”

 

“You sure?” she asked quickly, her eyes scanning him over.

 

“Yes?” He hadn’t meant for the answer to come out as a question.

 

“We could do this again…or more….do more.” She shrugged. “Maybe you need more of a push…Just in case.”

 

“I-I-“ he stammered awkwardly before finally yanking his wrist from her hand. “More?” He was about to ask her what that meant, but then he was staring at a shirtless Meg, and she was most definitely not wearing a bra. His jaw fell open and then he was grabbing his sweater to press against her chest. “ _Meg_ ,” he hissed.

 

She laughed and pushed his sweater away. “See, _that’s_ the face I figured you’d be giving me. You can touch if you want.”

 

“I _don’t_ want,” he fumbled. The words fell out of his mouth so clumsily, and Castiel was hardly ever clumsy with words. He was not the kind of person to struggle with words or what he wanted to say, but clearly shirtless Meg made him the average teenage boy who could only think with one head and not the other.

 

“I think you do,” she insisted. “C’mon Clarence.”

 

There she was, back to calling him Clarence. He rolled his eyes at her. “You gonna make me cop a feel?”

 

“Oh my God, you _do_ know something,” she mocked him playfully.

 

“You should put your shirt back on,” he muttered, his eyes focusing on the floor.

 

“C’mon Cas. They don’t bite. Promise.” Meg grinned and then she had his hands and was pressing them on her breasts, holding his palms there. “See? Soft.”

 

“ _Meg_ -“ he squeaked, his voice cracking again, which was embarrassing enough. Adding the touching was only making him sweat nervously. “We shouldn’t be-we shouldn’t-“

 

“Easy Clarence, you’re going to pop a blood vessel,” she teased. “Re _lax_ , you are freaking out for _nothing_.”

 

Castiel yanked his hands back into his own space, quickly pulling his sweater back on. “I’m going to go now-“

 

“Cas wait!” Meg reached out and took his hands again but she only held them. “I’ll do you a favor.”

 

“What kind of favor?” he asked slowly, his eyes squinting again.

 

“The kind you’ll love. Promise.” She gave him another wink and then before he could stop her, she had the front of his jeans open, reaching into his underwear.

 

“Hey-whoa- _ohh_ -“ his protests cut off into a soft groan as she worked soft hands up and down his length slowly. The desperate, breathy noises that left him were not something he was used to hearing; he had never touched himself before. He had never been curious enough to try, but he had to admit he was starting to understand the appeal as the pleasurable sensations ran through his body.

 

“Do you like that?” she asked him quietly, her voice low and sultry.

 

“Yeah-“ he gasped, falling back on his elbows.

 

She smiled and licked her palm to make the job easier. “You’ve got a nice cock, Clarence.”

 

He would have blushed scarlet if he hadn’t been so focused on how good he was feeling; he groaned and his head fell back, eyes slowly closing to take in the sensations. His body felt as if it were going to light on fire and explode; it was so overwhelming. She withdrew a whine from him when her fingers ran up to rub against his slit, and he could feel precome leaking out.

 

“What are you-doing-to me-“ he gasped, which was a stupid thing to ask he realized soon after. She was going to give him an orgasm that much was clear. Of course he had never _had_ an orgasm before but his body just felt so _good_ that he had a feeling he was going to want them again and again.

 

“Gonna make you come, Clarence,” she said, her hand working his length faster now.

 

Castiel groaned again at the sensation and the wet noises that followed made his erection twitch. When the heat pooling in his abdomen became too intense, he sat up on his elbows again, watching in surprise when he began to come. His cries of pleasure echoed around the room and there was a smile on Meg’s face.

 

“Good boy,” she praised, squeezing the last drops out of his cock slowly. “How was that?”

 

Slowly, Castiel looked up at her, even as his member began to soften, and the pleasure slowly ebbed away. “Good,” he choked.

 

She grinned. “I knew you’d like it. I can do you one better later…with my mouth if you wanna try that.”

 

Castiel’s eyes widened at the thought of having an orgasm in Meg’s mouth; it sounded unpleasant. “Maybe,” he whispered.

 

Her grin widened.

 

xxx

 

 

“Are you _ever_ going to ask him out?” Kevin asked Dean tiredly.

 

Dean continued to stare at the back of Castiel’s head as he sat at the Ravenclaw table for dinner. He shifted uncomfortably before finally dropping his gaze down to his meal, which suddenly did not seem as good anymore. “No,” he muttered.

 

“Why?” Kevin asked.

 

“Because he’s dating Meg Masters,” Dean growled, his hands clenching into fists. He had been _certain_ that Castiel had been into him, all the way down to the way Castiel tittered and blushed when Dean smiled at him. But apparently that was not the case because the bastard was now going out with _Meg_.

 

“ _Meg_?” Kevin repeated, clearly not believing what Dean was saying to him. “Are you _sure_?”

 

“That’s what I heard some other girls saying. They were from Slytherin so I figured it had to be true. They would know-“

 

Kevin rolled his eyes so hard that it made his body move. “And you _believed_ them? You should probably ask Castiel before just assuming that he’s dating someone. I’ve never seen them together. At least not _together_ together. They hang out but they’ve always been friends.”

 

Dean continued to glare at his dinner. Mealtime had always been his favorite but not tonight. The fact of the matter was that Dean _had_ been planning on asking Castiel out soon, but Meg had beaten him to the task apparently. His anger seethed in his stomach and Dean could not bring himself to eat. He wanted to walk over and punch Castiel in the face for leading him on. He wanted to then turn around and throttle Meg for being a bitch and taking Castiel away from him.

 

Everything was a huge mess and he wanted to scream.

 

“What’s eating him?” came Jo’s voice and Dean jerked his head up to look at her.

 

“Jo,” he whispered and the idea struck him so hard in the chest that he gasped.

 

“What?” she asked, glancing down at her robes. “Do I have something on me?”

 

“No,” he muttered. “You wanna go out with me?” The words came out so fast that it made her do a double take.

 

“What?”

 

“Do you want to go out with me?” he repeated more slowly.

 

“Out? Like….on a date?” Jo stared at him in surprise. “Since when do you go on _dates_? You do hookups, not dates.”

 

Dean gulped and tried not to look at Castiel again. “Please?” If he went out with Jo maybe that would make Castiel jealous.

 

“Dean-“ Kevin tried to begin but he kicked him to shut him up.

 

Jo blushed and glanced down at her plate. Dean watched in slight satisfaction as she began to play with her blonde hair. She _did_ like him; he had always had his assumptions but he had never put them to the test.

 

“Well?” he prompted.

 

“Yeah. We can _go out_ , whatever that means in Dean speak…but if you break my heart, I break your face.” She pointed a slim finger at him and gave him a look that made him believe her. Jo was scary as hell when she wanted to be.

 

Dean did not miss the look of disappointment Kevin gave him but he ignored it. He liked Jo and she liked him; she as nice, they were friends, there was nothing wrong with wanting to cuddle your friend who also happened to be a girl. Or at least, that was what he told himself anyway.

 

“When do you want to go out?” she asked him.

 

“Um…” Dean glanced over at Castiel again before putting his full attention on Jo. “Soon? Whenever…”

 

“We could go to Hogsmeade this weekend,” she commented slowly, the end coming out in slight question.

 

“Yeah. Sure. I like that idea.” He nodded and took a bite of his dinner, his appetite slowly returning. “Saturday? Noon?”

 

She smiled and nodded. “Yeah.”

 

“Cool.”

 

Jo blushed and gave him another shy glance before getting up to go and join her girlfriends at the other end of the table. Dean took another bite of his dinner and then he glanced over at Kevin slightly who was glaring at him. “What?” he said without a mouthful of food.

 

“ _Really_?”

 

“What?!”

 

“You’re only going out with her to piss off Cas, Dean. I’m not stupid, I know how your Neanderthal brain works,” Kevin quipped at him. “You’re an idiot. You’re going to break her heart.”

 

Dean glanced down at his meal and picked at it slightly. “Then she’ll break my face,” he replied awkwardly.

 

“Seriously Winchester, you’re a moron.” Kevin sighed and stood up, leaving Dean to sit alone.

 

 

xxx

 

Castiel was standing in Honeyduke’s with Meg, Dean noted as he walked with Jo hand in hand into the shop. The only reason he had agreed to come to Hogsmeade on Saturday at this exact time was that he had overheard Castiel and Meg talking about going themselves. When Castiel turned around, Dean squeezed Jo’s hand and pulled her closer to her body, despite her slight protests.

 

“Dean what are you- _ow_!” Jo tried to pull from Dean’s grip and she gave him a dark look for his trouble. “What are you doing?”

 

“Hey guys,” Dean greeted Castiel, ignoring Jo completely.

 

“Oh, hello Dean.” Castiel smiled at him and Dean felt his heart flutter a little faster. “I didn’t know you were here.”

 

“Yep. On a date,” Dean said pointedly, squeezing Jo’s hand again.

 

“Date?” Castiel asked, his head tilting to the side.

 

Dean smiled. “Yep. Me and Jo. You and Meg on a date?”

 

“Oh um-“ Castiel went to say more but then Meg slid up to him and wrapped her arms around his and smiled.

 

“We _are_ ,” she replied for him.

  
Dean did not miss the look of confusion that Castiel gave her and Dean tried not to frown in the same confusion. Meg and Castiel were dating, that was what he had been told. “Having fun?” he asked quickly.

 

“Yes,” Meg replied as she gave Castiel’s arm a squeeze. “Right?”

 

Castiel nodded. “Yes. We are.”

 

“Yeah, us too,” Dean said as he slid an arm around Jo’s waist.

 

“Well _good_ for you Winchester,” Meg drawled before pulling Castiel along. “See you later.”

 

Castiel cast a glance over his shoulder but Dean watched them go before pulling away from Jo to glare at the candy. He would have to get Sam a box of chocolate frogs, or maybe he would buy him some Chocoballs; Sam liked those too. He could feel Jo’s accusatory eyes on him but Dean ignored her and went to pick up some Chocoballs for Sam instead.

 

“What was _that_ about Dean?” Jo asked him, hot on his heels.

 

Dean shrugged. “It was nothing,” he muttered. “Just talking to some friends.”

 

“Since when are Meg Masters and Castiel Novak your friends?” Jo snapped.

 

He shrugged again. “Cas is a good guy and Meg ain’t bad either. Why do you care-“

 

“Because you yanked me around like a doll when you walked up to Castiel,” Jo continued as if he hadn’t even said a word. “I mean as we were waking down here, we didn’t even accidentally bump hands…but then when you saw Castiel and Meg, you latched onto me like a leech. Why?”

 

“It’s nothing Jo, I’m sorry-…okay? I’m sorry. I gotta get some candy for Sam-“

 

“Do you like Meg?” she asked, cutting him off.

 

He almost laughed out loud at her question but he bit his tongue to keep from laughing. Meg? Half of the time he couldn’t stand to be in the same room as Meg let alone to date her. His silence went on for too long however because Jo was starting in on him again.

 

“Dean? Do you?”

 

“I don’t like Meg,” he replied.

 

“So why-“

 

“Because I’m stupid? I don’t know, okay? I’m worried about Cas dating her is all. She’s a bitch and I don’t want him to get hurt. Okay? That’s all.” Dean grabbed the candy for Sam before hurrying up to the counter to remove the Galleons necessary.

 

Jo frowned and followed him up to the counter. “Then why don’t you just talk to him about it?”

 

“Because I don’t want to upset him, I don’t think he’s ever had a girlfriend before. I’m sorry Jo, I was being a jerk. You forgive me? I’ll buy you some candy,” he offered lamely with a small smile.

 

She rolled her eyes but then she was smiling at him because he was too hard to stay mad at. “If you _insist_ I wouldn’t mind a chocolate wand.”

 

“Sure.” He nodded and she was hurrying off to go and grab one. Once she was gone, Dean sighed and allowed himself to relax. He did not want her to suspect him of trying to purposefully make Castiel Novak jealous; it wasn’t her business, and if she found out, she probably really would break his face. And he liked his face.

 

“Thanks Dean,” Jo said to him after they had left, candy in hand.

 

“No problem.” Dean offered her another smile and then they were walking towards the Shrieking Shack to talk and finish this “date”. Not that he really wanted to; in all honesty he wanted to follow Castiel and Meg around, to keep an eye on him…or really, he wanted to keep an eye on _her_. He trusted Castiel, but he did not trust Meg. She was sneaky, rude, and in Dean’s opinion an easy girl who would take advantage of Castiel.

 

Jo snapped her fingers below his nose. “Hey. Are you okay?”

 

Dean jerked. “Yeah-sorry… Did you say something?”

 

“Seriously, what is wrong with you?”

 

“Nothing. I’m fine. Really. I just zoned.”

 

Laughter drew their attention away from each other to where Meg and Castiel were coming around the corner, faces flushed and smiles wide.

 

“Oh,” Meg laughed. “I guess this spot is taken after all, Clarence.”

 

Castiel looked around and smiled when he realized it was Dean and Jo standing by the fence. “Well, hello again,” he greeted. “Funny how we keep running into you two.”

 

“It’s a small place Cas,” Dean pointed out, his hand going to take Jo’s in his own again. “Not that surprising, you know.”

 

Castiel smiled again but it was not as sure this second time around. “Um…well…we’ll leave you to it then.”

 

Meg smirked at him and Dean saw in that one gesture her intentions; she was doing this to screw with him he was certain. She was dating Castiel to mess with _him_. Dean cast her a nasty glare, but that only made her smirk more.

 

“Yes, we will,” Meg said before leaning over to press a kiss to Castiel’s cheek. “Maybe we should invite them to go on a date with us. We could have a big group together. What do you think Clarence?”

 

Castiel smiled brightly. “That sounds like a great idea. We could go to The Three Broomsticks. You wanna go now?”

 

“Yeah _Dean_ , do you want to come with us now?” Meg asked him pointedly.

 

Dean bristled in annoyance. “Yeah,” he muttered. “Sounds good. Right Jo?”

 

“I guess?” Jo asked more than agree, but Dean didn’t care. Still holding Jo’s hand, he followed Castiel and Meg back to The Three Broomsticks, which were allowing underage wizards today. As soon as they were sitting and had ordered butter beer, Dean kept his eyes on Meg and how she clung to Castiel like an enraptured child with their first toy.

 

“So, I didn’t know you two were going out,” Castiel commented after Meg had been whispering and giggling into his ear and some silence had fallen over them.

 

“It’s our first date,” Jo said slowly.

 

“Oh. Did we invite ourselves into your date? Whoops,” Meg said. “Our bad.”

 

“We can go,” Castiel began.

 

“No,” Dean said quickly. Probably too quickly but he didn’t care. “You don’t have to. It’s no big deal.”

 

Castiel nodded and took a sip of his butter beer, and when he put the tankard down he had a film of the drink across his upper lip. Dean shifted in his seat uncomfortably when Meg lightly turned Castiel’s chick and began to lick the stuff away, pressing a kiss to his lips and making Castiel’s cheeks flush deep red. When the display continued on for too long, Dean cleared his throat, drawing their attention back on him.

 

“So um…how long have you two been going out?” Dean asked.

 

“Not long,” Castiel replied with a smile. “But it’s been nice. Meg is very nice.”

 

Meg grinned and leaned against him. “Clarence is wonderful.”

 

“Clarence?” Jo asked, sounding just as annoyed as Dean felt.

 

Castiel blushed. “It’s a nickname.”

 

“Trust me, it’s perfect,” Meg purred. “Is it wise for you two to date? Being on the Quidditch Team and all…I mean, what if you break up? Doesn’t that ruin your team _spirit_?”

 

Dean bristled again. This was why he hated Meg. She was horribly sarcastic and even had worse class. “It’s not your business,” he snapped in return.

 

“But didn’t she join the team for you?” Meg continued.

 

Jo’s face turned so red that Dean could practically feel the heat permeating from her face. “I did not,” she growled. “I joined the team because I wanted to.”

 

“Did you?” Meg asked, her head tilting. “Because I’m pretty sure our First Year you just hated the game. Next thing I know, you’re a third year on the team.”

 

“It’s not your business why I joined,” Jo snapped vehemently. “Just because _you_ do things with boys in mind, doesn’t mean _I_ do.”

 

Dean glanced over at Jo and then slowly turned his eyes back on Meg and Castiel. “Meg, do us all a favor and shut you pie hole.”

 

Meg’s eyes narrowed before looking over at Castiel in offense. “Are you going to let him talk to me like this?!”

 

Castiel stammered and Dean could see that he was clearly torn. “Dean you shouldn’t-“

 

“Yeah, well she should keep her damn pie hole shut,” he cut Castiel off coldly. “C’mon Jo, we don’t have to listen to her.” He continued to give Meg a dark look before getting up and taking Jo’s hand to walk out with her, his shoulders feeling stiff. “God I can’t stand her.”

 

“Me neither,” Jo agreed. “I can’t believe she-ugh-“

 

Dean continued to hold Jo’s hand as they started on their trek back to the castle. Meg’s words resonated with him, even though he wished he could have let them go. Before he could stop himself, he ended up asking out loud. “Did you really join the team for me?”

 

“What? _No_! Why the hell would have joined _for_ you? You’re not that cool Winchester.” Jo gave him a look that read how offended she felt.

 

“I didn’t mean to offend you,” he whispered. “I’m sorry….I just…I remember how much you hated it and then the next thing I know you’re one of the best Chasers we have on the team.”

 

“Well I didn’t join for you,” she replied angrily, even though her resolve was wavering. Dean could see her face and he was starting to doubt what she was saying.

 

“You did join for me, didn’t you?” he asked quietly.

 

“I did not!” She yanked her hand away and shoved them in her pockets instead. “I didn’t join for you-“

 

“Jo, did you join because you liked me or did you join because you wanted to join?” he asked seriously. They stopped walking and turned to stare at each other in the middle of the road, arms crossed. The tension in the air was so strong that Dean was certain he could have lit a match on the atmosphere. “Jo?”

 

Her brown eyes narrowed and her perfect brow knitted together in a frown. He stared back at her but the tension only grew until she turned and continued to walk down the path. “Screw you, Dean!”

 

“Jo!”

 

She didn’t stop or turn around, and Dean just stammered after her. Her silence and refusal to answer the question spoke louder than her words ever could have. She had joined the team presumably because she had had a crush on him, and now she was just as addicted to the game as much as he was addicted to it. But that did not change the fact that she had possibly joined for him, and only for him. Then Dean had to wonder why he cared so much; he didn’t really _like_ Jo, at least not in the romantic sense.

 

Right?

 

Dean shook himself and buried his cold fingers into his jacket. The whole way back to the castle, he couldn’t decide why the idea of Jo joining the team bothered him so much. Not until he realized on his way up to the Common Room that the reason that it bothered him so much was that if Jo had joined because of him, that meant breaking up with her was going to be a hell of a lot harder than he had envisioned. It meant that he was going to actually end up breaking her heart.


	3. Chapter 3

“Clarence? _Really_?” Dean asked incredulously as he looked over at Castiel. “Seriously? Clarence? You just let her call you that? What the hell man?”

 

Castiel rolled his eyes. “It was just her weird name for me, I don’t know.”

 

“And you just _let_ her call you that?” Dean snapped in annoyance. Why would Castiel let Meg call him something so stupid? It was just dumb. “You have a real name, she should use it.”

 

“It’s a nickname,” Castiel replied. “Like you call Sam, Sammy. It’s like that-“

 

“It’s _not_ like that Cas!” Dean cried out, his hands clenching into fists. If Castiel were _his_ boyfriend he sure as hell would have not have been calling him _Clarence_. That wasn’t even close to Castiel. “Cas is your nickname. It’s a shortened version of your name, that’s what a nickname is-“

 

“A nickname is a name that is assigned to you by someone who cares about you for whatever reason they feel like fits your personality,” Castiel corrected him, which only annoyed Dean more.

 

“You act like it doesn’t bother you,” Dean said.

 

“It doesn’t. It bothers you.”

 

The words slithered into the air between them and made them both extremely aware of the other. Dean had never really thought about whether Meg calling Castiel _Clarence_ had bothered Cas, but now that the words were said out loud, Dean realized that they had never bothered Castiel. Not really. The person that had been bothered had been _him_. The realization made a blush flood across his cheeks hotly until he could only glare at the ground.

 

“Yeah well…it’s a stupid nickname,” he mumbled smartly before storming away before he could say anything else that would cause him further humiliation. He just hoped that Castiel did not follow him, but he was also hoping that he did not run into Jo either. After their fight at Hogsmeade they had been extremely awkward. He wasn’t even sure what to do about it either.

 

He liked Jo as a friend, and she was a very pretty girl, but he had attempting to make Castiel jealous. As far as he could tell, his plan had had no fruition other than his own pain and agony. Maybe he should break up with Jo now and get it all over with, or maybe he should stick it out. If he was a big enough of a jerk she would probably dump him, which seemed like an okay alternative. He didn’t mind getting dumped. Girls were more likely to be upset about getting dumped. Right?

 

“Heya Dean.”

 

Dean looked up from where he had been staring to see Meg Masters leaning back against a pillar, looking amused. Dear God did he want to smack that smug grin right off of her face. “Meg,” he growled coldly.

 

“Aw, whatsa matter Dean? Did I take your cutie pie away from you?” Meg pouted playfully at him, her lips pursing, but Dean could see the glee in her eyes.

 

His fists began to clench together and he had to physically stop himself from taking his wand out. “You’re a bitch, you know that?”

 

“You’re just pissed that I’m the one that gets to take care of Castiel’s sexual frustration and you don’t,” Meg replied coolly. “But dating Jo Harvelle, _real_ smooth move Dean. _No_ one will notice your real goal.”

 

Dean huffed in annoyance. “Fuck you Meg. If I find out that you’re just fucking using him to get to me-“

 

“ _Relax_ Winchester. I’m dating Castiel because I _like_ the little saint. Believe it or not, more than one person can have a crush on Castiel Novak at the same time. It’s not a crime.” Meg smiled and gave him a wink. He was ready to punch her in the nose, girl or not.

 

“Whatever,” he mumbled before storming off again. If he stayed there any longer he _would_ pull out his wand and hex her ugly face. The worst part was that Meg _wasn’t_ ugly and Castiel had every right to like her back. Especially if she was dating Castiel because she really _did_ like him, and not just to screw with Dean.

 

He was tempted to leave for the Quidditch pitch, just to take his mind off of the entire situation but just as he was deciding to turn and go in the right direction, he was walking right into Anna Milton; the redheaded Ravenclaw who had a ridiculously nice face. She was frowning at him so darkly that he began to wonder if maybe he should have just kept on walking.

 

“What?” he asked tiredly. “You pissed at me too for some reason I don’t know?”

 

“I _heard_ you,” Anna snapped. “Jo’s my best friend and you’re _using_ her?!”

 

Oh no.

Oh _no_.

 

Dean stammered and quickly latched onto her arm so she couldn’t walk away. “Anna _please_ , don’t-don’t tell her-it-I-“

 

“Don’t _tell_ her?! Are you kidding?! I’m going to tell her right now, you jerk!” Anna yanked from his grasp and gave him a hard shove. “I hope you end up _alone_ Dean.”

 

“Anna-“ he pleaded as she hurried away. When she was out of his line of sight, Dean felt his world crumble and fall apart right beneath his feet. Today could not have gotten any worse.

 

xxx

 

“You don’t have to sit with me,” Castiel told Meg as she slid her plate over so she could sit down across from him. The only other person that ever sat with him was Charlie but ever since he had started dating Meg, she had been ignoring him. Or maybe he had been the one ignoring her? He wasn’t even sure anymore.

 

“I don’t mind,” Meg replied cheerfully as she bit into an apple.

 

He offered her a small smile and went to return to eating his dinner when a loud commotion made everyone look up in surprise.

 

“You _cheating, backstabbing, ugly faced, liar_!!” Jo Harvelle was standing with Anna Milton and a few other girls in their year that Castiel did not recognize next to Dean Winchester. From what he could see, Jo had dumped pumpkin juice all over Dean’s face.

 

“Jo wait-“ Dean said, his hands rising up to protect himself because soon she was throwing punches.

 

Castiel stared in shock, his jaw dropping when he saw her practically climb on top of him and knock him around until some students were dragging in some professors to break them up. Jo was being taken away, now in tears, and Dean was being sat up by another professor; Dean was quick to shove them away and stand. The Great Hall remained in stunned silence until both Dean and Jo disappeared. Slowly, Castiel turned his eyes back on Meg who did not look surprised or phased at all.

 

“What do you think that was about?” he asked.

 

Meg snorted. “Well, if you ask me, pretty sure Winchester just go dumped.”

 

“Yes but _why_?” Castiel frowned and then shook his head. “I’m going to go and talk to Dean-“

 

“Don’t. He’ll just get all pissed off at you. Just let him sulk.” Meg waved her hand. “Seriously. You know him, he’ll get all angry at you.”

 

Castiel sighed because he knew that Meg was probably right; Dean would take his anger out on him. He would have to see if he could ask Dean later. “Okay.”

 

Meg smiled brightly at him. “Want to fool around after dinner?” She cast him a wink, which only made him blush.

 

They _fooled around_ a lot, and Castiel was not all that sure he enjoyed it, but he knew he was supposed to enjoy it so he pretended. If he were being honest with himself, he would admit that he hated fooling around, and that he would rather be doing his homework than making out. Maybe that made him lame, but he would rather be lame than uncomfortable.

 

“No thanks,” he replied as he finished off his dinner. “I have a lot of homework to do.”

 

“You _always_ have a lot of homework to do,” Meg pointed out, her voice on the edge of a whine.

 

Castiel shrugged. “Sorry.” They both could tell that he was not sorry whatsoever as he walked away. Castiel walked with a spring in his step all the way back towards Ravenclaw’s dormitory, when a familiar silhouette became more and more clear to him. Dean Winchester was standing outside of Ravenclaw portrait. “Dean?”

 

Dean turned around and his breath hitched, as if he were surprised to find Castiel walking up to him. “Hey…”

 

“What are you doing here?” he asked slowly. “Did you want to talk about what happened or something?”

 

“No,” Dean muttered. “No um…I wanted to tell you something. Important.”

 

“Okay.” Castiel smiled and waited patiently for Dean to continue. When some silence stretched on, he blinked. “Go on.”

 

“Um….” Dean began gracefully. “I-…nevermind. Nevermind. It was nothing. I’ll talk to you later Cas.”

 

“Dea-“ Castiel cut off as Dean practically ran away from him. He glanced up at the portraits that were all giggling and muttering amongst themselves. “What?” he asked. None of them gave him an answer, so he was forced to say the password and continue on his way. For having just been dumped, Dean did not seem all that heartbroken about it. If Meg dumped him, he was pretty sure he’d be sad for a little while. Even if it was only for a few hours.

 

Charlie was sitting on a cushion in the middle of the Common Room, a book in her lap. Castiel smiled and quickly went to sit with her. She did not glance up at him however, so he reached over to gently tilt her book up to see what had her so fascinated. That, however, only made her angry.

 

“Rude!” she snapped at him, quickly shutting her book and setting it aside. “You are so freaking rude Castiel Novak.”

 

“I’m sorry?” he asked slowly. When they were too absorbed to notice each other that was a habit they had; they would look to see what the other was reading. Why was it so bothersome to her now?

 

“Go away,” she snapped.

 

“Why? You can’t banish me from the-“ He cut off as she was standing and going over to the girl’s dorms. “Charlie! Wait!”

 

“If you won’t go away, _I_ will,” she continued.

 

“But why? What-wait-please-“ Castiel scrambled up to his feet and rushed over, almost tripping over a rug as he went to grab her elbow. Gracefully, or as gracefully as he could manage, Castiel crashed into a table and banged his lip hard on the edge. He could taste the iron in his mouth, and his hand flew up to cup his jaw so he didn’t bleed on himself.

 

Charlie stared at him in surprise before kneeling to look at what he had done to himself. “Good job, Giraffe.”

 

Castiel’s eyes narrowed at her. “Naw fummy,” he mumbled, his lip swelling.

 

She giggled and then quickly clamped a hand over her mouth. “Sorry. You want to go to the hospital wing together?”

 

He nodded, his hand still cupped around his mouth. Charlie stood and then helped him up, and then they were walking back out and into the castle. He wanted to ask her why she had been so annoyed with him but she was soon talking, as if she had read his mind.

 

“I wish you would just break up with Meg. She eats up all of your time and you’ve become so absorbed in her. It’s gross. It’s like we’re not even friends anymore.” She gave him a sad look and he would have said he was sorry but he had to keep from drooling all over his chin, and swallow blood now and again. “I mean, I’m sure it’s not your fault. I’m sure she has everything to do with it. But she’s not good for you Cas. She’s bad news.”

 

“I like Meg,” he managed to say, even though it made his mouth hurt.

 

“She’s still bad news,” Charlie said solemnly as if Meg were somehow a Death Eater or something. “Sorry I made you trip.”

 

Castiel shrugged slightly; she hadn’t made him trip. His own big feet had caused him to trip. The hospital wing was thankfully empty, so the nurse was able to attend to his face right away. Once the bleeding stopped and the swelling went down, he could talk again at a normal level, and not be in pain. That was what really mattered.

 

“So…are we friends again?” Castiel asked after they were being sent away.

 

“Yeah,” Charlie agreed quietly.

 

Castiel smiled.

 

 

xxx

 

 

“Have you _seen_ Dean’s face?”

 

“Yeah, it looks like he got infected or stung by a bunch of bees.”

 

“I heard he had a ridiculous acne outbreak-“

 

“They were full of _puss_ , one of them blew up and splattered. It was nasty.”

 

Castiel looked over at the group of students who were gossiping about Dean, a frown slowly forming on his face. They were all from Gryffindor so they had to be telling the truth. He was about to approach the students and ask them what they were talking about, but uproar of laughter made him pause and turn to look to see what was going on.

 

 Dean Winchester was hurriedly walking away, or at least he was making an attempt to hurry away, his head ducked down, but everyone that saw him were laughing and making his escape extremely difficult. Castiel’s frown deepened, and he was hurrying to follow after him, sliding past the people laughing.

 

“Dean? Dean, wait up!!” Castiel called after him as he broke out into a jog, quickly flying around a corner to grab onto Dean’s elbow. “Dean-“

 

Dean spun around and Castiel blinked, recoiling backwards. Dean’s face was covered in boils and pimples, reddened and full of puss. “What?” Dean said, his eyes slowly lowering to the floor. “You wanna have a laugh too?”

 

“What _happened_?” Castiel whispered, his hands reaching out to touch his face and then withdrawing on second thought. “You should go to the nurse-“

 

“I can’t. It’s-…it’s nothing,” Dean replied quietly.

 

“Nothing? Have you seen-“

 

“ _Yes_. I know what I look like, okay?! It hurts, so it’s not like I can forget. It was Jo and her friends. They hexed me somehow…” Dean shrugged and shied away from people as they passed him, chortling and giggling. “I gotta go Cas.”

 

“You really should go to-“ Castiel tried to begin but Dean was walking away and there no point in calling after him. He sent glares to the students laughing but there no use; everyone thought it was funny, but anger was surging through Castiel. Jo had dumped Dean and _she_ was hexing _him_? Sure, Dean had probably done something asinine, but that did not mean that Jo and her friends had a right to hex him. Bristling, Castiel stormed off towards the lake.

 

He had seen Jo and her friends heading down there earlier. If he were lucky, they would still be there. By the time he made it to the lake, he was so angry that he could have hexed them himself, but that would be rude. Jo, Anna, and Bela Talbot were sitting beneath a tree near the lake, looking through some magazines. Castiel hated confrontation but he stormed right up to them anyway, his arms crossed.

 

Bela looked up at him first, and then she nudged Jo. “Hey look Jo, it’s homewrecker.”

 

Jo glanced up, her dark eyes widening slightly when she saw him. “What do _you_ want?” she snapped.

 

“I want to know why you hexed Dean,” he demanded. “It wasn’t very nice-“

 

“Oh _look_ , they’re boyfriends already,” Bela said.

 

“Shut up Bela,” Anna snapped.

 

“I have no idea what you’re on about, but I want to know why you-“

 

“He _knows_ why you hexed him,” Anna replied coldly.

 

He went to speak again but Bela jumped in before he could. “Of course he does, he probably has Meg under the same pretesnses.”

 

“I heard you the first time,” Jo cut him off. “And I _hexed_ Dean because he _deserved_ it! He _used_ me to get to _you_.”

 

Castiel blinked. “What?” he whispered. Dean had used Jo to get to him? Why? Why would Dean use Jo to get to _him_? That made no sense. Dean didn’t like him; Dean could hardly stand him. “He-he _what_?”

 

“Um…I don’t think he knew…” Anna said quietly.

 

“You didn’t know?” Jo asked slowly.

 

“Know- _no_.” Castiel stared down at them all as if they had lost their minds, which he was pretty sure they had. “Why would he want to get to me? I don’t understand-“

 

“Oh good _lord_ , you’re dense,” Bela sighed as if he had caused her personal offense. “You’re an _idiot_.”

 

Castiel glared, his eyes narrowing. “I am not-“

 

“You _are_!” she continued. “Dean _likes_ you, you idiot. He has a big school boy crush on you.”

 

Bela could have slapped him for no reason and it would have shocked him less. Castiel stared down at them all in utter surprise; here he had always believed that his crush on Dean Winchester had been one sided, but Dean _did_ like him. Dean really did like him. “He likes me?”

 

“Yep,” Jo replied coldly. “Anna heard him talking to Meg. About how he was using _me_ so he could make you jealous. So we hexed him. He deserved it. Stupid prick.”

 

Castiel blinked and ran a hand through his hair in distress. “I suppose,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry…I mean I’m sorry he-..he hurt your feelings.”

 

“Whatever. Just…go away Cas.”

 

Castiel nodded and he could only slowly turn around and walk away, still in complete shock. Dean liked him. Dean Winchester had a crush on him. Slowly, Castiel felt a smile spread across his face as he made his way back inside the castle. He and Dean could go on a date; a _real_ date. They could go to Hogsmeade, hold hands, _kiss_. They could-

 

Castiel froze mid step. There was only one tiny problem with this new realization. Meg. He was dating Meg.


	4. Chapter 4

“How do you tell a girl that you don’t really like her?”

 

“Um….you just tell her? Why?” Charlie continued to scribble down more notes as they sat in Transfiguration together.

 

Castiel sighed and looked over to the other side of the room where Meg was sitting and also continuing taking notes. Usually, Castiel was good in class, and he took more notes than anyone. Ever since Jo had told him that Dean had a crush on him, however, he had not been able to shake the desire to walk up to Dean and kiss him hard on the mouth. But having a girlfriend was preventing him from doing such actions.

 

“No reason,” he muttered before turning his eyes out to the window, daydreaming. He probably should have been paying attention but he couldn’t stop himself from thinking on Dean, and how he wanted to hold Dean’s hand, kiss Dean’s lips, and touch Dean’s body. He wanted Dean to be _his_ , but he couldn’t just go up and tell him that. Could he?

 

Class was over before he knew it, and he had taken absolutely no notes. He would have to borrow some from Charlie. Meg was waiting for him when he exited the classroom, and Castiel had never felt so guilty before in his life. He wanted to tell Meg that he didn’t like her but he had no idea _how_ to tell her that he didn’t like her. He was supposed to like girls, he wasn’t supposed to like boys, but he had a huge crush on Dean Winchester and he didn’t know what to do about it. But trailing Meg along was just stupid.

 

“Howdy Clarence,” Meg practically purred at him as they began to walk down the hall together. “You look upset, what’s the matter?”

 

Castiel began to chew on his lip, wishing he could just tell Meg to leave him alone so he could think, but that would be rude. He didn’t like being rude to people. “It’s…it’s complicated,” he replied quietly.

 

“You wanna talk it out?” she asked, her voice sounding genuinely concerned.

 

“Yes but not with you,” he said. “Sorry.” Castiel ignored the look she gave him and quickly rushed ahead of her. Dean was probably at the Quidditch pitch right now. Taking a veer to his left, Castiel rushed out of the castle and began to run to the pitch, his bag smacking him in the thigh with each stride. But he didn’t care; he needed to talk to Dean immediately. As promised, he could see Dean in the pitch, but he wasn’t on his broom practicing, he sitting in the grass cross legged, staring up at the sky.

 

“Dean!” he called.

 

Dean turned his eyes and blinked in surprise when Castiel practically fell down beside him. “Hey…what are you doing out here?”

 

“I need…to talk…to you,” Castiel panted.

 

“Okay?” Dean asked slowly. “What’s going on?”

 

“Dean Winchester I have to ask you a very important question and I need an honest answer,” he said seriously, probably too seriously because Dean was trying not to laugh at him.

 

“Yeah?” Dean said behind a smile. “What?”

 

“Do you have a crush on me?”

 

The look on Dean’s face when from amused to shocked; his face turned a deathly white, as if his blood had been sucked out of his body and stored elsewhere. “What?” he whispered.

 

“Do you have a crush on me?” Castiel repeated slowly.

 

“Wh- _No_ ,” Dean snarled. “I do _not_ have a crush on you! God Cas, can’t you just be _friends_ with a guy? You gotta have to know if he likes you to?! What is with you fags?”

 

Castiel blinked a few times, not having expected _that_ answer out of Dean. He had expected Dean to be embarrassed, sure, but not angry or offended. “I…Jo said-“

 

“Well Jo’s a fucking liar,” Dean snapped. “Okay? She fucking hexed me, for Christ’s sake. She’s a bitch. Don’t believe everything you hear Cas.”

 

“So…you don’t have a crush on me?” Castiel asked, completely and utterly disappointed. He felt crushed, as if he would never be able to get up or use his legs again. Certain that Dean had liked him, Castiel had just risked everything by basically admitting that _he_ liked Dean. “Not even a little bit?”

 

“ _No_ , Cas,” Dean growled. “Go away. You’re ruining my mood.”

 

Castiel sighed and pulled himself up slowly to his feet. Walking away was hard, but he did so slowly, his head ducked down. The ends of his blue scarf were trailing behind him on the ground, since it was the only one he owned; it was about a mile too long for him but he wore it often anyway. It was his lucky scarf; he wore it when he needed the extra luck for the day, but it had betrayed him today. Dean _didn’t_ like him, and Jo must have been wrong. The tears that came out of his eyes felt too hot running down his face in the cold weather, but he couldn’t stop them. Nor did he really want to stop them either.

 

_xxx_

 

“What do _mean_ I’m being kicked off the team?!”

 

Castiel came around the corner slowly, his eyes falling on Jo and Dean; they were both standing in the empty corridor, talking in low heated tones. He probably shouldn’t even be still standing here listening, but neither of them paid him any heed.

 

“You’re being kicked off the team,” Dean replied angrily.

 

“Why because you’re too big of a pansy to admit you’re an asshole?!” Jo demanded, her arms crossed over her chest. “Since when do _you_ have that power anyway?! You’re not Team Captain!”

 

“Actually,” Dean said slowly. “I am. I got promoted because our Team Captain was caught cheating and got kicked off too. And I’m kicking you off the team, I thought I’d tell you myself rather than having you show up at practice and being embarrassed in front of everyone.”

 

“ _Why_?” Jo asked. This time, Castiel noted that her voice was full of tears, even if he couldn’t really see her face in the low light. “Because you’re mad at me? Is this some below the belt way to get back at me for messing up your face?!”

 

“No, it’s because we can’t get along anymore and I’m not going to risk the team over _your_ emotions, Jo. I’m sorry, but it’s final. You’re off the team.” Dean shrugged and took a step back. Now that Dean had moved, Castiel could see Jo’s face clearly, and he could tell that she was crying now. Not that he blamed her; if he had been told he was not allowed to go the library ever again, which was the only thing he knew to compare Quidditch to, he would be crying too.

 

“I _hate_ you Dean Winchester,” she said brokenly before turning and going the opposite way down the hall.

 

Dean’s shoulders slumped once he thought he was alone, and then Castiel tried to back pedal away as Dean turned. However, he wasn’t fast enough and Dean saw him standing there. Castiel had the grace to blush and look down in shame.

 

“What the hell are you doing here?” Dean demanded angrily.

 

“I’m sorry Dean, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”

 

“Yeah but you did,” the green eyed boy snapped. “God, you really are a fucking prick, Novak.”

 

“I’m sorry,” he repeated.

 

“Whatever Cas,” Dean muttered before stepping around him to walk away.

 

Castiel listened to Dean’s footsteps fading before he also continued along his way, his head ducked down. How was he supposed to tell Meg that he didn’t want to go out with her anymore, especially now when he couldn’t even tell her it was due to Dean actually having a crush on him? In fact, Dean seemed so angry with him that Castiel wasn’t even sure if they were friends anymore. The idea that they couldn’t be friends was upsetting, but Castiel shook his head. If Dean were going to be a brat, then he would just ignore him. He didn’t _need_ Dean Winchester to feel validated in breaking up with Meg, nor did he need Dean’s friendship. He had been just fine before the older Winchester had decided to be nice to him.

 

Castiel found himself walking with a bit more confidence, up until he rounded a corner and almost ran into Meg. Well, apparently he would be breaking up with her now rather than in the morning.

 

“Hey Clarence,” she said with a smile. “How are you?”

 

Castiel sighed and gave her an apologetic look. He did feel bad for stringing her along for so long, but then again, he had _told_ her that he didn’t really like girls in the beginning. She had insisted, and now they were here. “I’m not good Meg,” he replied.

 

“Why? What’s wrong?”

 

“I like you Meg, as my friend…but _only_ as my friend. I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry that I don’t like you like I’m supposed to, but I don’t think we should go out anymore.” Castiel slowly looked down at the floor, his confidence leaving him slowly like a bag of air with a tiny hole in the bottom.

 

“You’re breaking up with me?” she asked in disbelief. “Is this over Dean?”

 

“No. It’s not Dean, okay?” He glanced up at her again. “He doesn’t like me, he said so himself…this is for me. I don’t want to hurt you anymore, and I don’t feel comfortable dating you. And it’s not _you_ specifically…it’s all girls. I don’t like girls. Any girl.”

 

Meg frowned and Castiel could see her struggling with trying to pretend this didn’t upset her. “Oh, well okay. Fine. Whatever Clarence.”

 

“I’m sorry-“ he repeated. He really needed to stop apologizing to people every ten seconds. “Can we still be friends?”

 

“Yeah sure,” she replied quickly before rushing away from him.

 

Castiel flinched. Meg could pretend it didn’t bother her all she wanted, but he had seen the tears in her eyes. Making her cry had not been on his to do list, but he couldn’t feel bad for her. He had every right to break up with her, especially when he felt uncomfortable. But even that thought made him feel guilty, all the way back to the Common Room. Sleep did not come easily that night.


End file.
